This invention relates generally to inflatable game balls and more particularly to a padded game ball constructed to have greater durability and improved playing characteristics, and to a method for making such a game ball.
While this invention is applicable to padded game balls of various types, it is especially applicable to footballs. One of the problems associated with standard non-padded footballs is that they are sometimes relatively difficult to grip, as when they become wet or cold. In an effort to alleviate this problem, padding had been placed between the outer cover and the liner of the ball, thereby making the outer surface of the ball softer and more yielding to the touch. However, the addition of such padding necessitates the use of a thinner liner, which has heretofore resulted in a decrease in the strength and durability of the ball. U.S. Pat. No. 4,462,590, assigned to the same assignee as the present invention, discloses a solution to this problem to which the present invention is an improvement. Other patents of general interest include U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,597,308 and 3,119,618.